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September 15, 2008July 12, 2016

‘The Wizard of Gore’ DVD Extras

This DVD is stacked with supplements – although, appropriately they lean more to the cheesy end of the scale than the ‘professional’. Case-in-point the full-length commentary with producer Dan Griffiths, writer Zach Chassler, cinematographer / producer Christopher Duddy, Max Gillman (cited as associate producer) and director Jeremy Kasten. This is totally off-the-cuff with the cast stating that this is the first time they have been able to see the entire film (this ‘unrated’ cut anyway). It’s loads of fun akin to a bunch of buddies sitting together and casually rapping about the film. There is humor and lots of honesty, some swearing – I think I enjoyed it as much as the film. I was especially amused by the talk of Glover’s insistence at the codpiece (a pouch emphasizing the front of the crotch of men’s trousers) of Crispin Glover’s thoroughly researched costume. Anyway, fans of the film, or just about anyone else should get a laugh or two out of this group commentary as well as interesting production information about the film.

The rest of the supplements consist of a 35 minute Making of… feature with more crew and cast giving soundbites. There is another featurette entitled Behind the Screen: A Look at the Effects of the Wizard of Gore which lasts about 13 minutes and yet another • From Volunteer to Victim: The Suicide Girls in The Wizard of Gore – running the same length. There are 26 minutes worth of deleted Scenes – 7 in total with names like Scene 68, Montag and Dell in car, Geek’s Lair and backstage etc., 4 Storyboard comparison running a scant 2.5 minutes and a whopping 10 different stills galleries focusing on most of the cast with one for production graphics.

This film certainly knows it’s target market and all of this 2007 edition of The Wizard of Gore’s flaws can be dismissed by that undemanding niche – in fact it may be worth viewing for Crispin Glover’s performance alone. I’ve never seen the original (gaining marginal fame with it’s mention in Juno). This DVD is a very competent and thorough job by Weinstein… and if you want something totally different, film-wise, – well, here it is.